5 Zombie Games You Need To Play

Whether you call them “walkers”, “biters” or just the plain-old “zombies”, there’s something quite timeless about the undead hordes which we love to kill. Video games have been incorporating those shuffling corpses since the beginning of the medium, and to celebrate that we decided to look at the 5 best zombie games in recent years.

Dying Light

The newest entry into the world of zombie games is also one of the best. Developed by Techland, who are no newcomer to the zombie genre – the developer’s other franchise, Dead Island, shares many similarities, but Dying Light irons out all the weird bugs and repetitive grinding that comes with 2011′s tropical island adventure. The open-world zombie-parkour-survival title may look like an idea cashing in on a few popular cultural phenomenons, but it’s actually one of the most interesting, well-designed and unique experiences seen on the current generation of consoles.

Left 4 Dead 2

When the guys behind Half-Life, one of the greatest games ever made, announced they were making a zombie game – we couldn’t contain our excitement. The original Left 4 Dead lived up to its promise and the sequel took the brilliant co-op survival chaos even further. The premise of Left 4 Dead 2 remains the same as the first: survive hordes of the undead, as well as some other nasty creatures, until you reach a safe house or evacuation point. There is some kind of story involving an outbreak of a virus, but at the end of the day, you just gotta kill a whole lot of zombies, and L4D2 does that better than just about any game out there.

Dead Rising 2

As a series, Dead Rising is not without its flaws. If you can overlook the forgettable story, annoying characters, and frustrating time limits, a lot of fun can be had in this quirky world. No other zombie game gave you as many ways to take out the waves of zombies that are thrown at you, including chainsaw-motorbikes, football bombs, electric wheelchairs, and so much more. Dead Rising 2 did what all sequels should do: It built on what its predecessor did well and fixed many of its flaws. The main characters were more likable, the story was a bit more interesting, and your arsenal of weapons and combos was greatly expanded.

House of the Dead Overkill

‘Overkill’ couldn’t be a more suitable sub-title for SEGA’s Wii exclusive into the House of the Dead Series. Not only is it’s gore and violence over-the-top, it’s swearing, guns, dialogue, story and just about everything else is beyond any doubt an overkill, but it’s also one of the best zombie game around. Designed as an on-rails shooter using the Wii’s motion controllers, it’s a surprising game for the platform, but it’s also an adrenaline, laughter and gore fueled romp featuring a ton of crazy zombies, and you can’t go wrong with that.

Resident Evil 5

When the discussion for best Resident Evil game comes up, the fourth entry into the franchise usually gets the unanimous decision, but Resident Evil 5 featured co-op, a fresh new African setting, some insane bosses, gorgeous visuals, and of course, more zombies than you could handle. We’ll likely get some grief for it, but Resident Evil 5 stands as not just one of the best RE games, but one of the best zombie experiences around.

Which zombie games do you think deserve to be on the list? Let us know in the comments section below: